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About Us

The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities is a collective of some of Canada’s most research-intensive universities. Although each institution advances its own research and education mandate, The U15 Directorate works for the collective interest of all our members. We foster the development and delivery of long-term, sustainable higher education and research policy, in Canada and around the world.

Canada’s U15 universities are home to world-class researchers using state-of-the-art research infrastructure to make ground-breaking discoveries. Canada’s U15 institutions undertake critically important fundamental research, train tomorrow’s citizens, entrepreneurs and leaders, and work with partners from the public, private and government sectors to mobilize knowledge and capitalize on it. Top-quality university research is the foundation of our innovation ecosystem, which is one of Canada’s core competitive advantages.

Together, U15 universities:

• undertake 80 percent of all competitive university research in Canada;

• conduct $8.5 billion of research annually;

• contribute more than $36 billion to the Canadian economy each year;

• produce more than 75 percent of all doctorates awarded in Canada;

• receive 79 percent of all competitively allocated research funding in Canada; and

• hold 85 percent of Canadian university technology licences and 81 percent of Canadian university patents.

The U15’s role is to foster a research environment where universities can continue to drive this ground-breaking research. We do this by:

• championing the benefits of university-based research excellence;

• working with federal policy makers to improve conditions for fundamental research;

• producing high-impact data products and analysis regarding university research for internal and external audiences;

• connecting leading experts from all fields to those seeking expertise for public policy or news;

• fostering research collaborations with industry, the public sector, government and other partners; and

• participating in the Global Network of research-intensive university organizations to advance university research on the world stage.